“The harp is Amber Riley”: The Masked Singer Season 8 fans guess the celebrity behind costume Harp

FOX's The Masked Singer season 8 returned with a bang on Wednesday night, September 21, 2022. The Harp kicked off the premiere with an impeccable rendition of Perfect by Pink. After her performance, it became evident that she was someone to contend with on the famed reality TV competition series.

Upon watching the clues and performances of the Harp on The Masked Singer, fans took to social media to guess the real identity of the Harp. While there were fans who speculated that the Harp could be a celebrity like Rebel Wilson, many predicted that it was none other than American Idol alum, Amber Riley.

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The Harp kicked off The Masked Singer season 8 premiere with a soulful performance

The Harp was the first costumed contestant of the night to take center stage and open season 8 with an incredible performance. But prior to her performance, the series revealed a slew of clues as to who might be under the mask. Besides the clues revealed on-screen, the Harp herself also revealed more clues during her monolog. She shared,

"I can't believe I'm here on premiere night. But I am telling you, life does have a funny way of putting you exactly where you need to be. When I was a teenager, I auditioned for the biggest show in the world. It was my dream, but I didn't fit the mold and was turned down."

Continuing, the Harp added that although she was devastated, she knew that she had to keep going. She further stated that her uniqueness later landed her an opportunity of a lifetime. She concluded by saying:

"(I) became an idol for anyone who felt like an outsider. The 'no's' in my life made me stronger, but I won't be taking 'no' for an answer tonight."

In the visual clues that ran in the background during the monolog, there was a cast listing sheet that mentioned "Lead 1" beside two other leads that were left unlisted.

Another visual clue was a man dressed in either a scarecrow costume or a witch hat, who handed over a bouquet of pink and red roses to the Harp. The final visual clue was a pair of 3D glasses.

After her clues, the Harp took to the stage and performed her rendition of the famed song, Perfect, by award-winning singer Pink. The judges and audience were floored by her performance.

Following her performance, Jenny McCarthy shared,

"She's got grace, she's got class, she's got stage presence"

For The Masked Singer contestant's onstage clue, she told host Nick Cannon that she has won awards for singing, acting and for being a part of a comedy ensemble. This got the judges on their feet thinking about who could be under the mask.

Robin Thicke predicted that it could be Queen Latifah because she is a triple threat. Jenny McCarthy speculated that it could be Jordin Sparks or Fantasia citing her appearance on American Idol. Ken Jeong guessed that it could be Jennifer Hudson because she appeared on American Idol and S*x and the City.

While three of the four judges made their guesses, Nicole Scherzinger was too stumped to make a decision. Fans, however, had a prediction of their own.

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Fans speculate that the Harp is none other than Amber Riley

Taking to Twitter, fans speculated that The Masked Singer contestant could be Amber Riley because of her appearance in Glee and American Idol.

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The Masked Singer airs every Wednesday night at 8 pm ET only on Fox. Readers can check their local listings for more information.